Honoring Military Heroes

Honoring Military Heroes

**The following is an article written by Jennifer Chick. The article was originally published is CHS C Magazine.

Military heroes from across the U.S. visited Minneapolis, Minn., in October 2016 for the annual Medal of Honor Convention. CHS sponsored the convention, which recognized recipients of the nation’s highest military honor.

The Medal of Honor is presented by the president on behalf of Congress “for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her life above and beyond the call of duty.” Nearly 3,500 soldiers have received the honor since 1862. There are 78 living recipients and more than 40 of them attended the Medal of Honor Convention.

Wayne Ingalls, a CHS farmer-owner and Vietnam War veteran from CHS member cooperative Sioux Valley Co-op in Watertown, S.D., attended Medal of Honor events as a guest of CHS. Ingalls, who lost a leg while serving his second tour in Vietnam, was able to meet many medal recipients. He says he was honored to talk with Michael Fitzmaurice, the only living Medal of Honor recipient from South Dakota.

Fitzmaurice served in the Vietnam War in the 101st Airborne, the same division where Ingalls had served earlier in the war. “It was the highlight of my life. What they’ve done is above and beyond. They are very gallant men,” Ingalls says about meeting the Medal of Honor recipients.

“During the Medal of Honor Convention, we were reminded that these heroes are ordinary people whose extraordinary actions have left a lasting impression on others,” says Adam Holton, senior vice president, Human Resources, CHS. “Every day, CHS employees and owners are making a difference in lives around the world. We want to support our employees, our owners and veterans who are looking for a place to feel at home. That’s why we are committed to recruiting from the veteran community as an invaluable pipeline of talent for CHS and the agriculture industry.”